OPEN ARMS

Tommy had to sneak on to Birkdale as a lad.. now he’ll be welcomed back as a local hero and Major contender

TOMMY FLEETWOOD used to sneak on to Royal Birkdale when the members were not looking because he had no chance of being invited to play.

Next month he will strut on to the first tee as if he owns the place when the Southport club welcomes its hometown hero with Open arms.

Fleetwood (right, after winning the Johnnie Walker Championship in 2013) would have been strongly fancied to challenge for the Claret Jug in his own backyard even before his impressive US Open performance confirmed him as a serious Major contender.

His odds are certain to tumble after finishing fourth at Erin Hills on Sunday but what is most important is not that the bookies believe he has a real chance – it is that Fleetwood does too.

While he may have fallen short with a level-par final round that never really looked like worrying winner Brooks Koepka, Fleetwood consoled himself with how comfortable he felt in his first weekend contending at the business end of a Major.

That augers well for his next outing on the big stage when he will strive to go just a little better to clinch a Major many of his peers on the European Tour have predicted for him.

And if he can do it at Birkdale that would surely be the sweetest victory of all to fulfil a boyhood dream at the one place that was ruled out of bounds growing up. Fleetwood said: “Birkdale was the forbidden fruit when I was younger. Me and my dad used to sneak on and hit a few shots and then get off before anybody saw us. But nobody knows about that! “People talk about home advantage but I don’t think I’ve that much of an edge because I’ve not played the golf course enough. It was the one course we never got to play in the area. “I did go to Birkdale last month and played a couple of times. I was trying to make the most of it by sneaking a few rounds in.

“It’s a brilliant track. The key is driving, it’s one of the hardest golf courses in the world off the tee.

“I think every bunker is in play pretty much. It’s a ballstriker’s course again but as always at The Open it’s always on the luck of the draw. You might get there thinking you’ve a great chance and then you get the wrong side of the draw and you’re knackered.

“I’m sure there will be more expectation of me but that’s nice, it’s better than people expecting me to miss the cut. You never know, it might be overwhelming or it might be great but it’s going to be brilliant to play in front of a home crowd.

“Not many people get the chance to play a Major or even a tournament where they’ve grown up so it’s special for me.”

Safe to say he is relishing the prospect even more after his excellent performance– particularly Saturday’s 68 that kept him just one shot off leader Brian Harman going into the final day.

In the end the trophy went to neither but the ease with which Fleetwood handled the pressure of contending proved to him he has it in him to finish the job next time.

He added: “Once I got up there I felt comfortable and that’s important as you never know how you are going to react. You’re sleeping on leading a Major and then you have to wake up and deal with it – and on Saturday I played fantastic,

“Sunday was a different story, I didn’t play as well but still scrapped it round in level par on the Sunday of a Major.”